ASHES OF OBSESSION

CHAPTER 5

"Strings You Can’t See"

Elena’s POV

I wanted to leave. I should’ve left.

But my feet refused to move.

Ronan’s fingers had barely grazed my skin, and yet it felt like I’d been branded, some silent, unspoken claim I hadn’t agreed to. Every instinct told me to turn and walk away, but something in his eyes rooted me to the spot. Something that felt like warning... and promise.

“You knew who Damien was before you ever stepped in. Why?” I asked again, quieter this time, as if lowering my voice would keep me safe from whatever truth he held.

Ronan didn’t look away. “Because I make it my business to know everything about people I find interesting.”

My pulse fluttered. “That’s not an answer.”

“No,” he said calmly, “It’s not.”

He turned his back to me and walked to the mini bar at the side of the room. As he poured a drink, I caught a glimpse of the tattoos that snaked up his forearms beneath the rolled cuffs of his shirt. Sharp, dark ink. Like everything else about him danger wrapped in luxury.

“You want the truth?” he asked, pouring a second glass and holding it out to me.

“I want the truth,” I said, even though my voice wavered.

He didn’t hand me the drink. He waited until I walked up to him and took it.

Power play. Every interaction with Ronan felt like one, and yet… I played along.

“I knew Damien,” Ronan finally said. “Before you did. Before the marriage. Before the lies.”

I blinked. “What?”

His jaw tightened, and I saw the flicker of something, rage, maybe, beneath his cool demeanor. “He made a deal with someone he shouldn’t have. Got in deep with people even I wouldn’t cross. I didn’t realize who he was married to until I saw you that night.”

My mouth went dry. “What kind of deal?”

But he didn’t answer that. Instead, he stepped closer. “You were the collateral.”

A beat of silence passed, heavy and loaded.

I gripped the glass tighter. “That’s impossible. Damien, he never… he wouldn’t…”

But even as I said it, I knew I was lying to myself. Damien was exactly the kind of man who would sell something, or someone, if it meant keeping his spotless reputation intact.

I staggered back a step. “So what? You’re here to clean up the mess? Tie up loose ends?”

His smile was slow. Dangerous. “Not exactly. I’m not here to tie you up, Elena. I’m here to cut the strings.”

I stared at him, stunned. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” he said, walking past me, “your ex is desperate. Dangerous. And he’s not the only one who’s interested in finding you.”

A chill slid down my spine. “What do you mean, not the only one?”

He stopped at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. “Let’s just say… you were on someone else’s radar long before I showed up.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.

But before I could press further, Declan reappeared. “Boss. We’ve got movement.”

Ronan nodded once, then turned to me. “You should stay here tonight.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter. “You think I’m going to spend the night in your lion’s den after that bombshell?”

“I think,” he said smoothly, “you’ll do what you always do. Pretend like you’re not scared, even when you are. But for once, Elena… maybe it’s okay to admit that you might need help.”

He left before I could respond, the door clicking softly behind him.

I stood there, heart pounding, questions racing through my mind. Who else was looking for me? What had Damien done?

And more importantly, why did it feel like Ronan wasn’t just protecting me… but hiding something too?

I didn’t sleep that night.

Not because I couldn’t, but because I didn’t dare.

Because somehow, despite the locked doors and bodyguards posted outside, I had a sinking feeling the real danger hadn’t even started.